INDIA’s bowlers kept creating opportunities despite another sloppy day in the field, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur said on Wednesday (17) after her side beat Australia Women by a record 102 runs to level the series.
The victory marked the first time any team had beaten Australia by more than 100 runs in women’s ODI history. It came on the back of Smriti Mandhana’s blazing 91-ball 117 — her second-fastest century for India.
Put in to bat, India were bowled out for 292, their highest-ever total against Australia. The visitors could only manage 190 in 40.5 overs.
After dropping four catches in the series opener, which they lost by eight wickets, India put down another six in the second ODI but still recorded a comprehensive win.
“Today also we missed a few chances, but our bowlers kept creating opportunities so that we could capitalise and keep the result in our favour,” Harmanpreet told the broadcaster after the match.
“This series is where we want to give everyone a chance. That is something we have kept in mind — to try a few combinations. I am happy with today’s combination and that everyone took responsibility and contributed,” she added.
Overall, Harmanpreet said she was pleased with the team’s effort. “We are happy that we played good cricket today. Happy that we got the result in our favour. We talk about keeping things simple and clear, that’s giving us breakthroughs, and we want to keep doing that again and again. Smriti got the runs, others didn’t score as much, but we still managed to get close to 300,” she said.
Mandhana, who shaped the win with her superb knock that included 14 fours and four sixes, said she was glad to finally score a century against Australia in a winning cause.
“The last two hundreds I scored against Australia were in losing causes, so I’m happy we won today. The game-plan was simple: in the powerplay, with two fielders out, try to play shots and then build the innings,” she said.
“It all depends on the conditions and who we play. Against Australia, you need 280–290. The wicket was flat and I had to be aggressive."
Australia captain Alyssa Healy admitted her side had been outplayed and said the defeat would serve as a valuable lesson.
“It’s good preparation for the World Cup. India were pretty good today in all facets of the game. We got outplayed a little bit,” she said.
“Great learnings for us heading forward. We did pretty well to hold them back as they were on course for over 300. The bowlers dug in well to restrict them to that score.
“They bowled really well with the new ball and we didn’t quite get the start we wanted. They bowled straight with straight fields, and varied their pace nicely as well. It’s good to have these opportunities heading into a do-or-die World Cup,” Healy added.
(PTI)
